In an earlier post, Sabotaging Your Own Dream, one of the readers asked a valid question: are there specific ways of increasing one’s self-awareness?

Yes, there are.

I hunted through the world of web and found these three basic tips below to help increase self-awareness:

Pause:

In a modern world that is full of distraction, noise, and chaos, we find it increasingly difficult to allocate time for ourselves in order to re-connect. In turn, stress and negative habits build until they threaten to overwhelm us, causing us to lose sight of who we are as individuals, and of our dreams.

Studies have shown that it is essential for our mental health to be able to spend quality time with ourselves; but, how do you even begin?

The first step is take a break from your usual hectic lifestyle. Pause. Be still. This can mean taking a long, hot bath; or, taking your lunch to sit in your car while listening to soothing music; or even finding a closet and shutting yourself in it. For others this could be found while going out on a leisurely walk, or gardening, or while washing the dishes. The key is finding your “quiet” place where you can be alone with your thoughts and feelings.

Reflect:

Turn your focus to your thoughts and feelings and reflect on them. What’s bothering you? Are you where you want to be at this point in life? If not, what is preventing you? What’s holding you back? Be honest with yourself. Recognize and acknowledge each thought and/or feeling that surfaces. Don’t push it away. If it’s helpful, keep a notepad with you and write about these thoughts and feelings. Don’t hold anything back.

Redirect:

Wait a day or two and then go back and review what you wrote. Chances are you may see a pattern of behavior (overtly or not) emerging. If it’s a negative one, it could be responsible for preventing you from realizing a particular dream. If it is, what changes can you make to remove or convert it into a more positive behavior? Make note of them, and then put them into action.

For further readings on increasing your own self-awareness, please refer to below sources:

“Self-sabotage is when we say we want something and then go about making sure it doesn’t happen.” ~ Alyce P. Cornyn-Selby

Do you find yourself falling short of achieving your dream time and time again,? Granted, there are some things that happened that are just out of your control, but what ifyou are the one at fault?

Huh?

You constantly procrastinate, or you talk yourself out of it because you believe someone else can do it better or that you’re not good or able-body enough to do it. Or, you’re seemingly well on your way to succeeding on a particular passion project when suddenly, you dropped the ball and it all falls to pieces.

Sounds familiar?

According to Psychology Today, “behavior is said to be self-sabotaging when it creates problems and interferes with long-standing goals.” It’s the same kind of behavior that we consistently participate in that causes us to self-destruct any dream we attempt to bring to reality.

For writers, this comes in the form of the inner critic.

Your work will never be good enough.

No one will want to read that.

That idea has been done before so don’t even bother.

How do you stop this behavior?

The most important aspect in successfully ending the self-sabotaging behavior is awareness. Become aware and acknowledge the certain behaviors that are holding you back, and then separate yourself from those negative thoughts and actions. It’s a process that if practiced often enough, you can finally be free of the self-defeating behaviors and focus on the things that matter: your dreams.

Are you in the Creative Arts industry (or you know someone who is) and have overcome difficult challenges (due to disability/disease/hardships) to achieve a specific dream? I’d love to hear your story! Go to the Contact page and send an overview of what you like to share with readers who may be struggling themselves to give them hope in that they too can achieve their dreams.